Whatisit?
 

Saw this odd tube/image device this weekend at our DVHRC Kutztown show. We could not tell if it was an image device or projection tube. If you looked down the opening, there was a grid-like array at the back end that resembled a bunch of small solar cells side-by-side with spacers inbetween about 3" from the front opening. The dark ring (with the white edge) around the opening is a very fine-toothed gear inside the glass that meshed to the drive gear in one of the two protrusions outside of the of the opening. It did not appear to drive anything we could see like an iris.

There were multiple pins behind the large glass (out of view) that resemble the rear-facing pins on old orthicons. I forget what the rear pin was, but it was not signifigant. On the rear somewhere were three RGB tinted pieces of glass side-by-side on the outside of the shell.

And that side neck gun assembly shot straight in to a wire mesh that covered the natural path of the gun and is built in the glass.

And it did sell. Any expert guesses or information?

Dave A

Omigawd !! The Atavachron !! <grin>

Why... that's the flux capacitor! The thing that makes time travel possible! :D

Scott

Yeah an' dammittall, wouldn'tcha know, that variac I rigged up to put out 3.7 jiggawats melted down last week...An' since Ratshak don't carry the parts anymore, I guess I'm just screwed... Hmmmm, maybe Fair Radio....

The only vacuum tube I recall described as having a rotating plate inside is the Eidophor tube - but I don't know if any versions looked like this. On second thought, an high-power X-ray tube might have a rotating target for heat dissipation, but this obviously seems to have something to do with color, not X-rays.

A taser from the 50's?